Eating trend: 'Dark dining' shines brightly in Asia

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 05:00 — Anonymous by Clay Hemmerich, with additional
reporting by CNNGo staffAt dine-in-the-dark restaurants, there's need to
worry about whether you're using the right fork. Unless someone is pointing a
creepy night-vision lens at you.Ever taken a bite of something with your eyes
closed -- a carrot, a slice of grapefruit -- then had trouble identifying the
flavor? That surprise you felt at finding out you'd actually bitten into a
peach, not a banana, is behind the increasingly popular "dark dining"
phenomenon. With roots in Europe and North America, the playful concept is
fast spreading across Asia. There's Senses restaurant in Hong Kong, Blind Art
Restaurant in Seoul, Trojan Fairy in Beijinig and Bandung's Blind Cafe and
Restaurant in Indoneisa.   This month, Bangkok joins the list with the
opening of Dine in the Dark (DID) in the Ascott Sathorn Hotel. Secret menus,
intensified flavors  Roughly following the worldwide script, a meal at DID
goes like this: diners are welcomed by a hostess, who helps them choose the
type of cuisine they'd like to try. Then they're led into a pitch-black room
where visually impaired guides help seat them at a table.read more